Paddy Power Review

Is Paddy Power Safe?

You’ve probably heard of this Irish bookmaker, but did you know they are rated as one of the safest betting sites?

In this Paddy Power review, we’ll take a close look at security measures including face ID log-ins, a high player protection level and the fastest withdrawal times.

Read on to discover what features assure us that the Paddy Power sportsbook is legit.

Paddy Power Security

Paddy Power has been operating for decades in the sports betting business. It opened its doors in Dublin in 1988 before developing into one of the largest brands in the industry.

As such, they take security very seriously. They value your personal information which is protected with a top of the range 128-bit SSL encryption on site. Other sites such as 888sport, do offer 256-bit encryption which is even more secure, but 128-bit is considered safe.

These measures protect your data against hackers and keep your information out of the wrong hands.

So, whether you are verifying your account or making a financial transaction, you should rest easy knowing that this technology is in place.

Licence

As a company that operates in many regions around the world, they are well licenced.

The most important one from a UK perspective is the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) which Paddy Power hold.

On top of that, they are also licenced by:

• Malta Gaming Authority
• Hellenic Gaming Commission

Holding licences means that Paddy Power operates under strict guidelines. We like to see more than one licence as it cements safety and security. It shows that the company are able and willing to adhere to the rules of different legislators.

Player Funds Protection Level

The UKGC award betting companies a rating based on the steps they have taken towards protecting players funds. When researching this for our Paddy Power review, we can see that have a high rating. This is the best.

The high rating offers complete peace of mind to players. It means that your money is held with a third party and is guaranteed to be safe in the unlikely scenario of Paddy Power going into administration.

In our experience, the high rating is rarely awarded, with only a small percentage of betting sites receiving it. Therefore, this is even more impressive to see.

Responsible Gaming

Operators in the UK are required to provide players with tools to ensure betting remains safe. At Paddy Power, this is an area where they go above and beyond.

They provide:

• Deposit limit
• Loss limit
• Budget calculator
• Self-assessment
• Reality checks
• Short or long breaks

While most of those are standard, the budget calculator stands out. Furthermore, they promote looking for signs with others. Their ‘Mates look after mates’ campaign encourages friends to speak to others who they suspect might be having a problem.

It’s an interesting take on the issue and one which we see as positive.

Fines

Unfortunately, Paddy Power has been in some trouble in the past.

The marketing campaigns they run can sometimes cause issues with the advertising watchdog, but the fines are fairly low. As they are usually for being cheeky rather than failing to meet requirements.

Other fines, however, have been for a more serious matter. In 2018 Paddy Power Betfair was fined £2.2 million for failing to protect customers, and for allowing betting with stolen money.

The fine was a hefty one and speaks of the gravity of the issue. It was paid and resolved with extra verification steps put in place.

It is a concern that such a fine has been issued, but they should have learnt their lesson.

Paddy Power Offers

New Customer Offer – Bet £20 & Get Your Stake Back in Cash if it Loses

Paddy Power offers all new players the chance to place their first bet with the chance of getting a refund in cash. But what does that mean? It simply means that if your bet loses, they will give the stake amount back in cash.

You can therefore withdraw the exact amount you put in (in this case £20) or place more bets, it’s entirely up to you.

The promotion is actually very easy to understand and offers a decent amount of value to players.

If your bet wins, great – you have a winner and there are no wagering requirements you need to meet before withdrawing. If you lose, you can call it quits or try again with your refunded stake.

Welcome Bonus Key Terms and Conditions

As you can see, the only major restriction is the minimum price of Evens (2.0) on the selection.

This is really cool as it gives players a lot of freedom. Quite often promotions are so restrictive that you don’t get to place the bet you actually want to. So, from a legit point of view, this is excellent.

The only pitfall to look out for is deposit methods. Only deposits via debit cards count. This can be a bit annoying if you don’t like to use your debit card for online betting transactions, but it is clearly stated.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that you shouldn’t place a long-term bet here. The bet must be settled within 30 days or it is forfeited. On the flip side, if your bet loses Paddy Power guarantees your refund within 1 hour of the bet being settled.

Bonuses for Existing Customers

Existing players can benefit from excellent offers across a wide range of sports.

Regular offers including price boosts, enhanced accas and in-play free bets are found within the promotions tab.

One of the offers that gathered plenty of steam is the ‘beat the drop’ promotion. This gave every customer the chance to take home £1m with a free entry. The offer has since been reduced to £1000 (quite the comedown) but it is still good for free.

You are given £1000 to answer a series of questions such as:

Goal to be scored in the first 25 minutes of Liverpool vs Manchester City

You can place as much as your £1k on either yes or no. So, say £500 on yes, £500 on no.

Of course, it’s not just one question. You take your winnings into the next round and are able to finally win what you’ve managed to keep hold of. There are 15 questions so it’s difficult but fun.

Paddy Power Loyalty

It’s well known in the industry that Paddy Power look after their loyal players.

Despite their advertising campaign that loyalty is dead, Paddy Power has more options than most for those players who bet with them.

On their welcome offer page, you may also notice a ‘Paddy Rewards Club’. This is an excellent loyalty programme open to all players.

Every player can earn up to a £10 free bet every week, as well as Power Up. A Power Up is an odds boost that you can apply to any single market you want. We rate this highly, because like the welcome offer you have complete control.

To earn the Power Up and free bet, you need to place bets in the previous week:

The thresholds for gaining the rewards is pretty low. You effectively get 20% of your stake back as a free bet, plus get a Power Up.

So, although the welcome bonus might not be the most generous on the market – the ongoing bonuses make up for that..

Paddy Power Sportsbook Betting Markets

Paddy Power is a leader in online sports betting and offers markets on practically any sport you can think of. These include:

• UK and Irish horse racing
• International horse racing
• Football (major leagues and beyond)
• Tennis
• Rugby
• Darts
• Snooker
• Golf
• E-sports
• Boxing

On top of those, there are always interesting special markets. You won’t be able to put a large amount of cash on the novelty markets, but the small limits promote them as fun (as they should be).

Maximum Payouts

There is a maximum payout for every sport, with every online bookmaker. Furthermore, a complete list of the payouts can be found on the companies terms and conditions page.

We were happy to discover for our Paddy Power review that limits were towards the top end of the market. For example, not many sites offer more than £1,000,000 as top payout; although William Hill and bet365 offer double that.

It’s also important to remember that it is not only the sport but the level of the sport. Bookmakers break these down. On top of that, the market type can also reduce the maximum payout.

For example with football, although top-level is a high payout market such as both teams to score and draw/no bet is capped at only £100,000.

How Do Odds Compare to Other Bookies?

This is an important aspect of any bookmaker as it effectively shows how much value you are getting.

Every bookmaker adds an ‘edge’, or an ‘overound’ on to their odds as a means of protection. And this is a good way to determine how competitive a betting site is.

Let’s take a look at a real example from a Premier League match.

Here we can see that Unibet is offering the best margin of only 3%, while Paddy Power is at 7%. So, in this particular example Unibet is providing the best value.

However, that’s not to say Paddy Power are not a fairly priced bookmaker. This is only for the 1X2 market. We’ve had a look into smaller markets and can see that they are the more competitive on those.

Furthermore, they are always close, if not top, of the markets on major sports including football, tennis and more.

Therefore, we can say that they offer competitive odds, giving their players good value.

Daily Fantasy Sports

If you’ve ever used FanDuel, you’ll notice Paddy Power’s Daily Fantasy Sports is very similar as they are now run by the same company.

For fantasy fans, it’s excellent. There is a combined wallet for sports, casino and fantasy meaning you never have to move your money around.

You can enter contests on a number of sports including football, American football, tennis, baseball and more. The section is slick, and easy for a new player to understand too.

Skill Zone

This is yet another unique Paddy Power feature. Players can win a share of £2,000 prize pool for playing fun side games. These are similar to game apps you would download for example basketball and golf games where you simply swipe your finger to move the ball.

These are free to play, and you can play as many times as you want.

Betting In-Play

As well as pre-match markets, Paddy Power is loaded with in-play markets too. There are usually dozens of bet possibilities when the action has kicked off with competitive odds and interesting selections.

The bet builder, or Same Game Multi-tool as it is known on Paddy Power, is also available to use on in-play markets.

If you’re not sure where to bet, there is a huge number of stats at your fingertips.

Find out the current stats of the game by clicking the button to the right to discover how many corners, red cards etc. have already been handed out. You can also get access to player stats, teams stats and anything you could possibly want to know about a fixture here.

Live Streaming Options

Players at Paddy Power are spoilt with over 100,000 live streams each year.

Football from the likes of France and the USA are available, as well as other sports like tennis, cricket and snooker. It’s very unlikely you’ll find football from the UK as this is hugely expensive and sought after by the big broadcasters.

So, how much does it cost? It’s almost free. We don’t want to say completely free because there are a few exceptions.

You need to have a funded account or have placed a bet within the previous 24 hours. There is no need to have placed a bet on the event you want to watch, with the exception of horse racing and greyhounds.

You have to place a bet on the race you want to watch. In saying that, the stake requirement is £1 or 50p each-way so chances are if you’re having a bet, you can watch the race you want. It’s just worth bearing in mind.

Paddy Power Cash Out

The cash-out feature at Paddy Power is available on a wide range of sports. In fact, it is an option for more events than most bookmakers in the UK.

The cash-out amount will clearly show in your betslip when it is available. This applies to both cash-out, and partial cash out.

Partial cash out works in the same way as regular cash out, however, you leave a certain amount of your stake on.

It’s worth bearing in mind that it is not guaranteed, even if a cash-out amount was once available. Paddy Power reserve the right to not cash out bets.

Paddy Power Payment Options

The options for depositing are plentiful. It’s nice to see the likes of PayPal there, which we consider one of the safest, most efficient ways to fund your betting account.

We also really like the low minimum deposits. Most sites set the minimum at £10, while some are as high as £20. So the £5 will suit every type of player.

The downside is that only your debit card counts for the welcome offer.

So, bear that in mind at least for your first deposit.

What really stands out here is the instant withdrawal times. They can’t always be guaranteed but in our experience – once requested, funds have hit our bank account straight away. This sets Paddy Power ahead of others who usually cite 2-5 working days for debit cards and Apple Pay.

The Cash Card PPlus also offers a unique way to bet. This card can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs and can also be used to spend in Paddy Power shops.

Of course, they can be used online too. Thus, giving players instant access to any winnings. You can fund the card with your debit card.

Paddy Power App

At legit, we like to see dedicated apps for each offering (casino, bingo, etc.) and Paddy Power do not disappoint. The betting app is one of the best in the business.

We say this because it’s so user friendly, packed with features and has excellent load times.

FaceID and pin codes can be used to log in to help with security worries and the app is protected by excellent firewalls.

Players can download the app with either Apple or Android devices for free.

Customer Service

Although Paddy Power is undeniably the cheeky betting company, they are also very professional. Their customer support offers a friendly approach, but they are also highly skilled.

Twitter is a bit of an extra here and isn’t something many bookies are set up for. Paddy Power has a big online presence, however, so it’s understandable that they are happy to have players contact in that way.

They don’t operate around the clock on social media but have recently updated their available times to 08.00 – midnight.

We found response times to be excellent with chats answered within 30 seconds. As far as customer support goes, it doesn’t get much better.

You might notice that there is no direct email address. This is because all queries are answered directly from the site.

User Experience

The overall experience at Paddy Power is a positive one. We liked the simple design with moving banners. Promotions were easy to find and to navigate through markets was straight forward.

In order for us to give a full Paddy Power review, we had a look at what else is on offer on-site. There is a top casino, live casino, bingo area and poker client to be discovered.

What we like about this is that there is a combined wallet for all of these. This means that you can play your money where you like without having to move it around.

Tips and Tricks

Improvement Areas

There’s not much that Paddy Power does wrong, but if there was something we’d like to see improve it would be their odds on outside markets.

They price odds high for main events and markets but can be lower on bet options such as a number of corners, or lower league sports.

With the welcome offer, we’d also like to see a few more payment options. If you don’t have an Apple device then you need to use your debit card to benefit from the promotion.

Conclusion

Paddy Power is a true all-rounder when it comes to sports betting and should definitely be considered. It provides a safe and secure platform for betting with an excellent number of markets.

Instant withdrawal times and all the extras on the side make this betting site stand out. It’s an easy seal of approval from legit.